defoliant

defoliant
/dee foh"lee euhnt/, n.
a preparation for defoliating plants.
[1940-45; DEFOLI(ATE) + -ANT]

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Chemical dust or spray applied to plants to cause their leaves to drop off prematurely.

Defoliants sometimes are applied to crop plants such as cotton to facilitate harvesting. They have also been used in warfare to eliminate enemy food crops and potential areas of concealment (as in the Vietnam War). See also Agent Orange.

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 a chemical dust or spray applied to plants to cause their leaves to drop off prematurely. Defoliants sometimes are applied to crop plants such as cotton in order to facilitate harvesting. They are also used in warfare to eliminate enemy food crops and potential areas of concealment by enemy forces. Defoliants were employed for these purposes by South Vietnamese and U.S. forces in the Vietnam War; (Vietnam War) among the more controversial of these substances was the chemical compound known as Agent Orange (q.v.).

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • défoliant — défoliant, iante [ defɔljɑ̃, jɑ̃t ] adj. et n. m. • v. 1966; de l angl. amér. defoliant ♦ Didact. Qui provoque la défoliation. ♢ N. m. Produit chimique destiné à la défoliation. ⇒ herbicide. Territoires dévastés par les défoliants et le napalm. ● …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • defoliant — defoliánt adj. m.(sil. li ant), pl. defoliánţi; f. sg. defoliántă, pl. defoliánte Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa: Dicţionar ortografic  DEFOLIÁNT, Ă adj., s.n. (Substanţă) care serveşte pentr …   Dicționar Român

  • Defoliant — Défoliant Un défoliant est un produit dont l effet est de faire tomber les feuilles des arbres par sa toxicité. Les défoliants peuvent être utilisés comme une arme chimique, comme l a fait l armée américaine durant la Guerre du Viêt Nam avec l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • defoliant — 1943, from DEFOLIATE (Cf. defoliate) + ANT (Cf. ant) …   Etymology dictionary

  • defoliant — ► NOUN ▪ a chemical used to remove the leaves from trees and plants …   English terms dictionary

  • defoliant — ☆ defoliant [dē fō′lē ənt ] n. a chemical substance that causes leaves to fall from growing plants …   English World dictionary

  • Defoliant — This article is about the chemicals used to remove leaves. For animals that eat leaves, see Folivore. A helicopter sprays defoliant on a dense jungle area in the Mekong delta (07/26/1969). A defoliant is any chemical sprayed or dusted on plants… …   Wikipedia

  • Défoliant — Dans la famille des biocides, et le groupe des pesticides, un défoliant est un herbicide qui a pour premier effet voulu de faire tomber les feuilles des arbres par sa toxicité foliaire. Sommaire 1 Usages 1.1 En agriculture 1.2 Usages militaires …   Wikipédia en Français

  • defoliant — UK [diːˈfəʊlɪənt] / US [dɪˈfoʊlɪənt] noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms defoliant : singular defoliant plural defoliants chemistry a chemical used for making the leaves fall off a tree or plant …   English dictionary

  • defoliant — noun An agent used to defoliate plants. ::Agent Orange is a defoliant …   Wiktionary

  • defoliant — [[t]di͟ːfo͟ʊliənt[/t]] defoliants N MASS A defoliant is a chemical used on trees and plants to make all their leaves fall off. Defoliants are especially used in war to remove protection from an enemy …   English dictionary

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